QsNav

Can atom interferometry be used to navigate vehicles with the utmost precision? This perspective is investigated at the Institute for Satellite Geodesy and Inertial Sensing, in collaboration with the Institute of Transportation Systems, the Galileo Competence Center and the Institute of Quantum Technologies.

Atom interferometry offers the possibility to measure acceleration and rotation with absolute accuracy and drift-free. These properties can be used to complement or even replace existing inertial measurement units for position determination. Especially in areas with no or only limited access to GNSS, such inertial measurement units are indispensable for navigation by means of trajectory reconstruction. Possible applications are maritime, aerospace and autonomous driving.

An atom interferometer is typically based on a laser-cooled atoms. After preparation, the atoms are freely falling. A first laser pulse produces a superposition of two momentum states which spatially separate over time, forming the trajectories of the interferometer. After a certain time, a second laser pulse inverts the momenta, such that the trajectories intersect later. Finally, a third laser pulse acts as a recombiner. If an external acceleration or rotation acts during this sequence, the position of atoms is  shifted relative to the light field of the laser pulses. This results in a phase shift which can be inferred from the population of the interferometer output ports.

So far, concepts and approaches for the technical implementation have been developed, and first demonstration experiments have been realized. The Institute for Satellite Geodesy and Inertial Sensing, in collaboration with the Institute of Transportation Systems, the Galileo Competence Center and the Institute of Quantum Technologies, is researching approaches for the realization of an overall concept for such a quantum sensor.

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Kontakt

Dr. rer. nat. Christian Schubert

Head Quantum Sensing
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
Institute for Satellite Geodesy and Inertial Sensing
Quantum Sensing
Callinstrasse 30b, 30167 Hannover
Germany